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TAG Heuer made a modular $1,650 smartwatch

When TAG Heuer released its first smartwatch two years ago, it had a price tag of $1,800 and was dubbed the most expensive Android Wear device on the market. Still, more than 56,000 people bought it, which is certainly enough reason for the Swiss watchmaker to delve into the smartwatch business once again. And so it has. Say hello to the TAG Heuer Connected Modular 45, which is the company's second Android Wear collaboration between Intel and Google. The starting price is still pretty high at $1,650 (?1,400), but the cost might be worth it this time. The reason? The Modular 45 comes with interchangeable parts, which makes the watch a lot more versatile than its predecessor.

What's more, it's the watch's modular nature that makes this the "First Swiss-Made Connected Watch." That's because the 45mm smartwatch module can be swapped out with a purely Swiss-Made mechanical option (Either the Calibre 5 or the much more premium Heuer 02T Tourbillon, which TAG Heuer claims has "the most accurate mechanical movements around") that transforms it into an "ordinary" luxury timepiece. So even if the connected module part of it gets outdated eventually (as it likely will), you'll still be able to have a high-end TAG Heuer on your wrist just by swapping that module out. And, who knows, maybe TAG Heuer will make future connected watch modules for the same system, making the whole thing wonderfully future-proof.

As mentioned, it's not just the watch modules that are interchangeable. Pretty much every part of the watch -- that includes the straps, the buckles and the lugs -- is as well. The core Connected Modular 45 range consists of 11 different designs; the watch module is in either silver or black, while the straps come in rubber, leather, titanium or ceramic, in a slew of different colors. And if that's not enough, well, TAG Heuer offers 45 additional options, some of which include premium materials like patent leather, rose gold and, yes, diamonds. It all adds up to a grand total of 56 different designs and, according to TAG Heuer, over 500 different design combinations.